Time for Texas to support needle exchange

As part of the omnibus spending bill President Obama signed into law on December 16, Congress lifted a long-standing ban on the use of federal money to fund needle exchange programs in states and cities that allow them to operate legally. This bipartisan action is a hopeful sign of a more realistic and compassionate approach to the quite real problems of drug abuse.

According to recent data, approximately 20 percent of new cases of AIDS are attributable to injecting drug use. Surveys consistently find that between 50 and 80 percent of injectors contract the Hepatitis C virus within the first year of needle use. A 2005 report by the Centers for Disease Control estimated that the current lifetime treatment cost for a person with HIV is $210,000. Treatment for hepatitis C can run to $20,000 to $30,000 per year, with lifetime costs of more than $300,000. Despite clear scientific evidence from eight major federal studies, strong recommendations by several U.S. surgeons general and directors of the National Institutes of Health, and the experiences of many other countries, establishing conclusively that providing injecting drug users with sterile syringes significantly reduces the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis without increasing drug use, it took Congress more than 20 years to lift a ban on such funding.

In states where needle exchange is legal, costs may be borne by state, county, and city health departments, but many programs are funded by private foundations, churches, and individual donations. Lifting the federal ban not only offers the promise of substantial funding, but sets a precedent that should make it easier for state and local policy makers to follow suit. During the last several sessions of the Texas Legislature, needle-exchange bills have moved steadily closer to passage — an effort I strongly support and have publicly advocated for. In 2009, a bill passed the Senate by a three-to-one margin and cleared the House Public Health committee by better than two to one. It seemed likely that the bill would have passed the full House had the legislative term not ended before this and other worthy bills could come to the floor. Perhaps this bipartisan action by Congress will provide the needed cover and impetus to allow Texas to enact this proven method of reducing these deadly diseases.

William Martin is the Harry and Hazel Chavanne Senior Fellow in Religion and Public Policy at the Baker Institute and the Chavanne Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Rice University. He is interested in the political implications of religion, and ways to reduce the harms associated with drug abuse and drug policy. His book, "A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story," is regarded as the authoritative biography of Billy Graham.